Surprised to discover that MIT's indirect costs (i.e. for facilities and administration) on research grants recently crossed 50% (jumps to 55% in 2022). ras.mit.edu/facilities-and
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Doesn't sound unreasonable. A rule of thumb is that total employee cost is double the base salary. In MIT's case I think fringe benefits are charged as direct costs. If fringe benefits are 35%, that's 1.5*1.35 =2.025.
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The benefits (a modest 27%) are included prior to the F&A adjustment, in the budget line item for staff salaries. ras.mit.edu/rates/employee
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Right, so if a researcher works 1 hour of direct labor at $50/hour, that costs MIT $50/hour * 1 hour * (1 + 27% fringe rate) * (1 + 55% indirect rate) = $98.43.
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Ah, I see what you're saying. Right, that does seem to work out to the normal rule of thumb!